This article originally appeared on i-D DEImagine you could teleport yourself to South Korea right now, Seoul to be more precise. Directly into a sweaty nightclub with bursting bass and the illest techno music. As soon as your whole body starts vibrating, every single worry vanishes. There’s only you and the music. This is the feeling photographer Yoong Jang tried to capture in her series Strange Seoul Rave.
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The winner of the first Dior Photo Award actually likes to compare her life to a rave: “No one knows what will happen tomorrow, after the loud music has stopped,” she explains. Yoong was recently in Berlin in order to document the local rave scene so I got in touch with her for a chat.
Strange Seoul Rave is said to be a reflection of your generation. How would you describe your peers?
My generation has so much potential and it's difficult to condense all that in one word. We are beginning to merge rapidly -- through globalization we are more connected than ever and can communicate with almost total freedom. Before the internet, it was really hard to communicate with the other side of the world, but now we can easily find people that are interested in the same things we are. I would call my generation the most undefinable one so far.What’s the best thing about being young nowadays?
We can create whatever we want to and share it with everybody, and that’s how we inspire each other.
My generation has so much potential and it's difficult to condense all that in one word. We are beginning to merge rapidly -- through globalization we are more connected than ever and can communicate with almost total freedom. Before the internet, it was really hard to communicate with the other side of the world, but now we can easily find people that are interested in the same things we are. I would call my generation the most undefinable one so far.What’s the best thing about being young nowadays?
We can create whatever we want to and share it with everybody, and that’s how we inspire each other.
You grew up in Seoul. How does that differ from life in Berlin?
It’s completely different. Seoul feels more like a 24/7 rush hour in every way, while Berlin is more relaxed and grungy. In Seoul everything changes so fast, you can’t even imagine the pace of things. I like to compare myself to a racehorse that never looks back when I am there.How do you perceive the rave scene in Seoul?
It’s really massive right now, but we know how to deal with it. If you really want to rave, you should definitely go to Itaewon. Almost only foreigners live there, who have brought their own cultures and get it all mixed with ours. It feels a bit like in Neukölln in Berlin.
It’s completely different. Seoul feels more like a 24/7 rush hour in every way, while Berlin is more relaxed and grungy. In Seoul everything changes so fast, you can’t even imagine the pace of things. I like to compare myself to a racehorse that never looks back when I am there.How do you perceive the rave scene in Seoul?
It’s really massive right now, but we know how to deal with it. If you really want to rave, you should definitely go to Itaewon. Almost only foreigners live there, who have brought their own cultures and get it all mixed with ours. It feels a bit like in Neukölln in Berlin.
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I've heard you like to compare life to a rave. Can you explain a little more?
A rave is always noisy and easy to enjoy and I realized how similar this is to life. We live in this messy world but in my head there’s this loud music playing right beside all of my worries. Sometimes I want to give up because in that moment I have not yet decided who I want to be. But you shouldn’t forget to enjoy all the moments in between this confusion as they won’t come back. Life is like a rave! No one knows what will happen tomorrow, after the loud music has stopped…@starry_space
A rave is always noisy and easy to enjoy and I realized how similar this is to life. We live in this messy world but in my head there’s this loud music playing right beside all of my worries. Sometimes I want to give up because in that moment I have not yet decided who I want to be. But you shouldn’t forget to enjoy all the moments in between this confusion as they won’t come back. Life is like a rave! No one knows what will happen tomorrow, after the loud music has stopped…@starry_space
Credits
Photography Yoong Jang
Photography Assistant Jieun Lee, Jaehak und Hyein Choi
Styling Yohan Kim
Hair and Make-up Ryungkyung Hwang
Models Myeonggwan Lee / Esteem Model. Takh / etcmgmt and Paul G / etcmgmt